Bat Weight Question

[cordovacollector]

Am I missing something or did the writer miss the obvious? Wouldn't it also be possible to make the requested changes in the weight for the manufacturer to select a billet that was less dry? Or to dry a bat form a bit more before putting it in the lathe? Or select a denser wood grain to get weight without changing size?

Technically, I think you could remove 1 ounce of weight more easily by drying it than sanding it. You could have two bats measured out and be the exact length and girth ... but just dried longer ... and there would be your weight variance.

http://www.mearsonline.com/news/newsDetail.asp?id=640

[cordovacollector]

"What I also did not take into account was the quality of the wood or grain count and its impact on the weight of bat in a given length. Nor does it factor in what would be required for the various model styles. I also have no idea how much weight is lost during branding or flame treating any more than I do for how much weight is gained when a bat is dipped in some sort of finish. I can tell you that if I was in a hurry and wanted to take the 1 ounce off of this bat as quickly as possible, machine sanding the barrel end would have very likely shorted this bat a bit more than what I ended up with."

I guess my other question would be for BMH. So which choice do the bat makers typically use to make a weight change? All of the above ... or one or two quicker ways? I would think players would object to size changes to make weight changes ... especially even slight changes to the handle.

[BMH]

We have weight ranges for our billets, anywhere from 77oz up to 100oz. From this selection we pick the weight range to meet the finished requirements of a bat model say a C243C 34in/31oz. Knowing what we need to make we select a 83oz billet. If the player didn't want the cup we would go with a 81oz billet.

Length...

There are very few manufacturer's out there that produce the exact length requested by the player. When I put a program into our CNC lathe I actually make the model 869mm (34.25in). I do this because after cutting off the nubs and sanding the ends it usually takes (depending on operator and sandpaper condition) a quarter inch off the bat. Since the ends of our bats are rounded the exact length is determined by how much pressure is applied during this sanding process. When a bat is cupped (remember those nice rounded ends?) the length is shortened by an 1/8th inch because of the diameter of the bit that cups the bat.